Liquid level indicating means



Oct. 5, 1943. A. E. MATHEY 2,330,933

LIQUID LEVEL INDICATING MEANS I .Filed Oct. 22, 1941 Zinnentor a fllcide E. Ha'l'heg attorney Patented Oct. 5, 1943 Amide Mattress. 'Bostom.,,} s is r: o)

.SignaL-Co, East Cambridge, Mass.,= a cor.-

poration.of Massachusetts V a I J A plicati noctatepzz, 19 n 'Seria1 No.416 009 This invention relates to signaling mean for indicating when the level ofjliqui'd' in a closed tank h 'asrisen toa given point. H

The invention i concerned particularly with the provision of an audible signal which willcdme into; operation when the'liquid hasyreached the. desired level so that the operator willfb 'advised whentoshut'oii" the entering-liquid.

The invention iurthencontemplates the provi sionofan audible signal which willbe-siin-ple in construction, cheap to manufactura-andwil'l-haye nomoving parts. f

A further object of the invention isthe pro: vision of an audible signal that may be connected in series with a vent pipe,fbut soconstructed that when the signal is cutoff by liquidcoining in contact withjthe' device, anyspittin g tendency willbe materially minimized. v

These and other objects'oi the invention will become'more apparent as'th'e *exp'lanat'ionpro ceeds with the aid of the accompanyingdrawing, inwhich Q Fig.1 is a sectional elevation of a liquid-containing tank, showing the general relation of the fill pipe, the vent pipe and the signaling'devi Fig. '2 is a sectional elevation Offthg signaling device."

Fig; 3" is a front elevation of, the device.

Fig. 4 is a view of the signaling device from the bottom." I p -Referri'ng to Fig. l, a'closed t-ankdfis shown; which maybe of any size desired; A fill pipe-4' leads into the tank; and in this instance haslan extension 6 which goes nearly to thebottom and' constitutes what is known" as a' deep fill; The location andconstruction of the fill pipei's nniinportant so'long asit-isarranged so'thatwhen the? liquid approaches the level at-which the indica-. tion is to be given, the ventedgaswillbe compolled to escape, inpart at least; through the-vent pip trather-than through the fill pipe. Byhe provision of the deep-fill 6, it is obvious that; after the-liquid has risen above the bottor n end thereof, thevented'vapors cannot escape through the fill pipe 4, but on the otherhand'must escape through such othervent orvents as may be provided. Another means of preventing escape-oi gas through the fill pipe is by the incorporation of amelbow-theiein, which expedient is' also well known in the art.

In the construction shown, a vent-pipe B'leads into the tank from an aperture through-the'wall of fill p'ipe 4-; but it may-be arranged otherwise if more convenient. That is, the vent pipe 8 could i zia i s onsid of means; j There is no need'for anycon'- nectionbet-ween fill pipe band 'vent pipe Bfthe arrangement -shown beingone "of convenience On the inner end-of the vent'pipe B is attached a button typewhistl'e H1, which'hasalign'ed ports I2 and ll; Arrest-view of-the whist-le'is shown ram- 1.3 p x v I -'Extending-downwardlyfrom'the whistle H) "is a tub l5 connecting directly with the interiorof thewh istle through an opening: I B and-terminating an m entering" port I 20; The level" at which Zll at the lower -end of tube Wig-locatedde ter'rhi esthe pointwat which the signal will be Accordingly, "after; the level to which the tank is tobefilled-has been decided upon, tube'i 5 mayi be'made oisuch length that the lower end is at this 'elevation; Of course,- the position of the whistie'ma'y be raised or lowered to assist in adjusting -the'po'sition of the'lower end of tube l6; button whistle I0 is. a form well known andlias beenfinuse for many years in devices of thi's -kind; It is particularly" suitable for this purpose; as it makes a clearly audible-signal under very small operating pressures. 'This type-whistle is also capable of being'rendered audible o'rf inaudible by varying the nature of the resonahce chamber. The opening" l8- throughthewhis tle whit and tube l t togeth'er provide means-for var-yi '8 =-thecharacter of the resonance chamber so .that the desired signakwill be produced when I the liquid levelhasrisen to M V seal the lower e'ndoitu'belli a'tportzfla 'flhe -above-described construction oper ties-"in thehfollowing manner: As liquid enters -the" tank l through fill l pipe 4; the gas-is vented through vent pipe the aient theport ldfto the-interior of whistle It and through port 20; tube I 6 and. op'enin'g' I 8f to the 'interior-- of whistle it): At this pointjth e" escaping gases merge and then continue through. poitlli to ventpipefl." I .o E Becanse' of; the" nature of the whistle; thefgas. flo n g 'through tube lfidestroys theresonanc' so that, during filling, no signal 'is, heardsdloh'gZ-as tothe atmosphere. The gas eaters the -liquid level is below port 20. When; however, the rising liquidvcloses' portit; thennecessary for any gas vented thereafter ss; exclusively through" aperture [4. Sine-ev fiowfof gas-through tube I 6"has becnlstopped, the resonant" characteristics of the; Whistle 1 return,

alidgtfigflewl O 's s hrough ports 14 and Ir-ta vent pipe 8 produces a clearly audible sound pipe through two channels; gname-l'y,

onance chamber, which in the disclosed construction consists of whistle Ill and the interior of con nected pipe 15. The gas, during filling, flows into this resonance chamber through two ports,

and as long as this continues, there will be'no' from to a point substantially below the entrance sound, but when the lower entrance is closed, sound commences. port 20, it is not necessary that the resonance chamber be reduced to the size of whistle Ill before sound is produced, as the resonance chamberiis effective when it consists partly of whistle I0 and partly of tube Hi. In any event, after the lowermost entrance to the resonance chamber has been sealed, the whistle commences, thereby giving the indication.

While there has been shown and described a preferred formof the invention, it should be distinctly understood that I do not intend; to be limited thereby, but only by. the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1 Liquid elevel indicating means for use with a tank, comprising a tank, a fill pipe therefor, a vent to the atmosphere, a whistle in series with said vent, said whistle comprising a, resonance chamber, a first port leading from said chamber to the interior of the tank, a downward extension from said chamber, a, second port opening from said extension at a point substantially below said first port, theports to saidresonance chamber so constructed that, during filling of said tank, gas will flow thereinto from both ports and no signalwill be heard; but when the, lower port is sealed through the rise of the liquid level so that gas fiowsto'said vent through said first port only, said resonance, chamber'will' produce an audibile signal, thereby indicating the level oi liquid in said tank.,. p 1 q Liquid'level indicating meansyfor use with a tank,comprising in combination, a closed tank, a 'fill pipe connected, thereto,- a vent pipe leading from the interior of said tank to theex terior thereof, means for insuring a flow or gas through said vent pipe during filling, an audible signaling device attached to the interior end of said: vent pipe and-having a port therethrough in series :with said vent pipe, said device having a resonance chamber, an opening-through the side of'said chamber, a tube extending downwardly from. said opening and forming an extension of said resonance chamber, the construction 01 said signaling device being such that when gas flows into said resonancechamber through said port and said tube, no signal will Following the sealing of v,

ly to a point below said whistle port, the structure formed by said whistle and connected tube constituting a resonance chamber whereby when gas flows to said vent pipe through said whistle port and tube, said whistle will be substantially inaudible, but when said tube is closed against the flow of gas therethrough so that gas flowing to said vent pipe flows through said whistle port only, an audible sound will be produced.

4. 'A liquid level indicating device for use with a tank, comprising a vent pipe, a button type whistle attached to one end of said vent pipe,

with ,7 the ports of said whistle in series with said vent pipe, an opening through the wall of said whistle, a tube attached to said whistle at said'openingand extending downwardly thereopening to said whistle, said whistle and said tube constituting together a resonance chamber which is capable of producing an audible signal when said tube is closed and gas is flowing through said whistle to said vent pipe, but which will'be substantially inaudible when gas is flowing to said vent pipe through said whistle ports and said tube.

5. Aliquid level indicating device which may be positioned in an opening in a closed tank to provide a venting passage from the interior of the tank to the exterior thereof, said device comprising a whistle including, a resonance chamber, a single port from said whistle, which, when said structure is in position with respect to a tank with which it may be used, leads to the atmosphere, two other ports leading to the resonance chamber of said whistle, one of said two other ports formed by a downwardly extending tube, the entrance to said tube being located a substantial distance below the other of said two other ports, the construction and proportions of said resonance chamber and connected tube being 'such that when gas flows to said resonance'chamber through both said two other ports and from said resonance chamber tothe port leading to the atmosphere, the device will be substantially inaudible, but when said tube is closed so that gas flows to said resonance chamber from the upper of said two other ports only and thence through the port leading to the atmosphere, said device will produce an audible sound. v

6. Liquid level indicating means for use with a tank comprising in combination a closed tank having filling'meansa whistle, said whistle comprising a chamber having two entrances and an exit, said extrances exposed to the gas in the tank and said exit leading to the atmosphere, means for causing the passage of substantially all vented gas through said entrances, chamber and exit, one entrance to said chamber located at a point substantially below the other entrance, the lower entrance determining the level at which the indication will be given, the whistle construction being such that duringfilling of said tank gas will flow from said tank to said chamber through both entrances to merge in said chamber and then will flow through said exit in a substantially inaudible manner, but when said lower entrance is sealed through the rise of liquid level within the tank so that gas flowing to said chamber and exit passes solely through said other etrance, said "chamber will produce an audible signal thereby indicating that 

